The year 2020 is
about to fly by and we are welcoming 2021. As with any year, there would
obviously be optimism as one welcomes 2021. The outgoing year has not been
memorable across the human mankind. It might be one of those years which would
be best left forgotten. The year 2021 is beginning with optimism and one hopes
the challenges facing the existence of human mankind are overcome and a new
beginning emerges. The year 2020 too was welcomed with optimism but somewhere
along Wuhan in Hubei province of China, a virus was sweeping around claiming
victims as it spread its tentacles far and wide. It was not that the rest of
the world did not know, what perhaps was unknown the magnitude of damage it was
inflicting across the city of Wuhan. China could have alerted the rest of the
world but as with any other Chinese thing, they chose to remain secretive. It was
a potential ruin event, to borrow from Taleb, but the World Health Organization
(WHO) instead of alerting the rest of the world decided to downplay the fears. It
was in more ways than one complicit with China. The regulatory capture had been
complete. The organization is still to investigate China. In fact, the world
still is undecided on fixing the accountability for the pandemic that has
ravaged the past year.
WHO
communication strategy is paramount for prevention of pandemics and it is where
it completely failed. Not just it was a failure of forecasting but a sheer
complicity with the Chinese rulers that makes the apex health organization
culpable in mass murder. If Xi Jinping emerges as a bully with whom people
still want to do business, the WHO is no less. The other countries with few
exceptions fared no better. By February it was getting clear that virus had
expanded beyond China yet few countries took note of the same. One of the few
exceptions would be Taiwan which despite its proximity to China has managed to
handle the pandemic with brilliance. Vietnam and Mongolia two other neighbours
of China too have managed to contain the pandemic with alacrity. Despite some clusters
emerging, they have escaped so far with little damage.
Japan and South
Korea too controlled the outbreaks fairly well though they are not out of
danger yet. The damage however was reserved big for Europe in part thanks to
their own incompetence and in part thanks to them being pawns of China. Europe
has been at the receiving end of the virus, yet at the end of the year, they
seem to make peace with China by signing a free trade accord. It is a different
matter that China has broken all international rules, threatened mankind yet
what it seems to get is the reward for penetrating more regions. Australia
despite continuing to be bullied big by China signed a regional economic accord
for a free trade area. It seemed to be one-sided path with China having access
to Australian markets with denial of reciprocity. The European continent is too
steeped in woke and Stockholm syndrome that it is unlikely to ever come out of
the Chinese dragon’s web. The web has been weaved tight and 2021 might see a
reinforcement of the same. Italy suffered only due to its woke calls for
hugging a Chinese to stop racism and what got paid was the wholesale killings
by a biological weapon not just in Milan but across the country. Spain was no
exception. Germany might have escaped the worst in the earlier part but now in
engulfed in deep pandemic turmoil, yet its industries want to make business
with China. To France or Germany, demonstrating their strategic autonomy from
US would be a priority than bringing into the accounts the sins of China in
killing their own population. The fact that no European country has raised any concern
itself demonstrate the dire straits it finds itself in.
Britain too has
been suffering big and partly due to its own incompetency. Its policy was a
disaster from the beginning and just went to bad to worse. If Britain was bad
to worse, superlatives perhaps do not suffice to describe the US response
throughout the 2020. In an election year that saw the incumbent the mercurial
Donald Trump being voted out in favour of the establishmentarian Joseph Biden,
the response was pathetic to see the least. The CDC in US had detected the presence
of virus, had alerted, tests had been developed yet the very first tests were
botched up by the FDA. This set back US by a big mile. By the time, the new
tests emerged, there was very little they could do to control the pandemic. To add,
was the individuality that overrode the collective welfare. Each state wanted
to have its own way of dealing and there were anti-lockdown movements to
anti-mask movements, with people rebelling against social distancing all that
could go wrong went wrong. President Trump did not help matters with his own
mercurial style neither did many of the Democrat Governors who more publicised
their public relations network than tacking the pandemic at roots. The situation
was not different in Europe either. The outcome was not just the deaths were
very high but the economy too collapsed. Across the world, the economy suffered
severe setbacks as the lockdowns and the pandemic toll had its impact on the production and consumption.
India for all
its failings came out of 2020 with relatively better performance. It’s economy
tanked no doubt leading to the first recession being reported in its
independent history. But by the end of the year, the economy was showing signs of
recovery. The pandemic period was used to push in structural reforms some of
which have met with resistance but the direction is unambiguous. The pandemic
too was contained with less damage. The trade-off might have the loss on
economic front, but the loss of lives was something to be avoided and India has
done fairly well. By the end of the year, the pandemic seems to be under
control though no room exists for complacency and neither the danger has
passed. The vaccines are on their way and the year 2021 is likely to be the
year of vaccines. Getting six billion population in this world vaccinated while
reviving the economy would be the greatest task in front of the global
leadership as one marches into 2021. The future of mankind would depend on how
successful this execution would be.
Comments
Post a Comment